Collateral Damage
by Kiva Taliana
Summary: Trapped in a rather desperate situation Arthur does two things that Merlin never thought possible. Will probably work as a one shot but I might add a short chapter to round off. Contains a mild ish torture scenes.


Draman couldn't believe how easy it was. The big strong King of Camelot had crumbled. Not through torture. They had put the man through enough of that to know he wouldn't break. For hours they had half drowned him, beaten him, and even used a white hot sword on him. The king had screamed, he was good at that, but his voice had given away no secrets. But now, now, Draman had him begging.

He gave a curt nod.

"Do it."

"Leave him alone. Merlin!"

Arthur had been chained to the wall, he could only get up onto his knees and go no further. All he could do was watch helplessly as they held Merlin down on the table, wrapping the damp cloth over his mouth and pouring the water him. Merlin's body jerked, the coughing muffled, but his legs kicked out, his heels scrabbling against the wood as the men concentrated on holding his head and shoulders down. Arthur knew what it felt like, not long ago he had been suffering the same torture.

And that was where the power lay, Draman realised. Arthur could handle the torture himself. The best torture, the sweetest one, lay in forcing Arthur to watch it happening to someone else. Now he was struggling, begging for them to stop, telling them to leave his servant alone.

"Tell me then," Draman said. "Bayard need never know it was you. I know all kings have access to each other's secrets, to a point. What you can tell me will be more than enough."

Draman watched the doubt flicker into Arthur's face, looking at his struggling friend. Arthur's jaw clenched, his eyes flickering away but then he had to look back again. Draman waved his hand and they stopped pouring water over Merlin's face and they whipped the cloth away. They sat Merlin up, as far as his rough bonds would allow, and he coughed and spluttered as his body demanded air. His gasps for breath echoed around the cold stone room.

Arthur had no idea where they were. All he knew was there had been an ambush and he had been knocked out. The last thing he was sure of seeing before it had gone black had been Merlin running towards him. Because of that, they had Merlin as well. Arthur snarled and jerked against the chains holding him, an iron collar around his neck and shackles on his wrists. He pulled at the collar, which did nothing. If he pulled too hard that caught the chains on his wrist and threatened to unbalance him.

Arthur tensed again as Draman walked over to Merlin. He gripped Merlin's chin, tilting his head back. Merlin continued to splutter, water running out of the corner of his mouth. Draman used his fingers to wipe the trail away, pushing his thumb between Merlin's lips, forcing his mouth open.

"Do you want to tell me what I want to kn…ow!"

Draman pulled his hand back and Arthur almost cheered as Merlin bit on Draman's thumb, as hard as he could. In respond Draman slapped Merlin around the face, Merlin's head jerked to the side, the slap sounding sharp in the confined space.

"Put him down again."

"NO! Leave him alone, he has nothing to do with this!" Arthur roared. He struggled to try and get onto his feet but he had no traction and he couldn't free himself from the chains. All Arthur could do was watch helplessly as they pinned Merlin down again. As the four bulky men gathered around Merlin Arthur couldn't see him clearly. But he watched as Merlin's legs flailed again, his heels kicking against the board. And there were the awful sounds as Merlin choked violently.

"You'll kill him!" Arthur shouted as the kicking of Merlin's heels started to lose strength.

Draman turned and smirked at Arthur, and the following few seconds were agonising for Arthur. His head pounded, and his throat felt raw, his lungs burning as he struggled to free himself and get to Merlin. Thankfully, eventually, Draman waved his hand and the group of men released Merlin, letting him sit up again. Merlin coughed and spluttered, desperately trying to breath. Arthur knew how it felt. He glared up at Draman.

"Leave him alone!"

"Tell me what I want to know," he countered back. Draman stepped forward, looming over Arthur.

"You do that, I'll leave him alone."

Merlin struggled to gasp for breath. He lay limply in the men's arms but he managed to turn his head, and his fear turned to horror. Merlin stared at Arthur, on his knees before the leader, and Merlin knew that look in his eyes. They had found Arthur's weakness. Arthur could take anything, he would do so willingly. The chink in Arthur's mental armour lay in his empathy. He knew what things felt like and he wouldn't even want to inflict it on anyone else. Merlin could see Arthur crumbling, because of him, and he couldn't do that.

"Arthur," Merlin croaked in warning. It sounded entirely unintelligible to Merlin himself, but yet Arthur seemed to realise what he was saying, giving Merlin a helpless look.

"Let him go," Arthur said.

"No," Merlin coughed, then he turned to glare at Arthur again. "No!"

The second time he roared, the voice exploding from somewhere deep in his belly. The gust of wind threw the leader off his feet. Arthur ducked and the man crashed face first into the wall. Merlin felt the magic flow, his eyes flared and the ropes holding him snapped and the four men flew in all directions. Thuds occurred at they slammed into various walls. They hit hard, the sounds around him stilled as people crumpled to the ground. Merlin whimpered and rolled, his shoulder slipping off the edge of the platform and he crashed onto the ground. The air slammed from his lungs and he lay there gasping helplessly, his legs moving to try and find some traction to get himself up off the floor.

"Merlin," Arthur gasped as Merlin's head turned, looking in his direction. Arthur had been pulling desperately at the collar around his neck, easing his fingers into it to try and free himself. He stared in horror as he saw the golden lights flashing in Merlin's eyes. Merlin blinked and whispered a word, holding his hand out to Arthur. His response was almost automatic as he let go of the collar to reach out to Merlin, then Arthur fell forwards into a rather undignified heap on the floor. Behind him the chains crashed backwards against the stone wall and Arthur glared at Merlin. Merlin rolled and the two men struggling to their feet were thrown back against the wall. Arthur tensed his legs, putting his feet under him to get up. As the leader attempted to rise Arthur took his head, swivelling it round sharply and there came the sickening crunch of bones as he snapped the man's neck. Very slowly, still gasping for breath, his throat and nose feeling burnt, Arthur pulled the man's sword. It scraped against the stone and Merlin jumped. Arthur held out his hand to ward Merlin off as he turned to look at him.

"It's me Merlin!"

Merlin sagged to the floor, flopping down and laying still. With a growl that made his throat hurt Arthur grabbed Merlin's upper arm and hoisted him off the floor.

"No time for a nap Merlin! Come on! And be quiet!"

Arthur dragged Merlin to the door and lifting his foot pushed it. There was no give.

"There has to be a key."

He put Merlin against the wall, turning to look at the bodies. The leader would be the most likely one carrying it. Arthur stepped towards the sprawled corpses when the heavy sound of metal shifting thudded around the room and a squeak followed. Arthur turned glaring at Merlin. Merlin leant against the wall where Arthur had put him, but the door had opened and Merlin stared at Arthur with regret and resignation. Arthur ran back, grabbing Merlin's arm and as the door opened far enough Arthur pulled Merlin out and then pulled the door to. As he let it go the door creaked open a fraction. Arthur pulled it again.

"Lock it Merlin."

"What?"

"Whatever you did, secure the door again!"

Arthur heard the sound as the door lock snapped back, securing it. No one would really think to look through the small grill on the door unless they needed to. Arthur looked left and then right assessing the corridor. He grabbed Merlin's arm again and forced him to walk down the passageway. Merlin walked along miserably, stumbling over his own feet as he realised, he had revealed himself to Arthur. Arthur knew he had magic. He had done it to save him, to stop Arthur from doing something stupid, like the cabbage-head he was, but Arthur wouldn't see it like that.

"Merlin, for pity's sake, pay attention!"

His shoulder slammed against a wall and he turned, blinking slowly as Arthur pushed him into the shadows, holding his sword ready and watching the two men walk down the corridor. Arthur waited, listening carefully as it all went quiet. No other sounds echoed around, all they could hear was the low sound of their own breathing. Merlin even thought he should hold his breath.

"It's all clear, let's go!" Arthur hissed dragging Merlin out and still propelling him forward, while he kept the sword in his other hand. Merlin froze as he reached a junction and Arthur slammed into him.

"What?"

"No, no!" Merlin hissed. "Not this way. We can't go this way, there's a trap."

"How do you know?"

"There's magic, I can sense it. I'm… I can do that… sense things that…"

"Less talk Merlin," Arthur hissed pulling him back and swivelling Merlin round so he looked down another corridor. "Is this okay?"

"Yes, I don't think…." Merlin shut up as Arthur ran him forward, looking back as he did so and then pausing at another junction. "I don't think that has anything to do with the bandits, it's too old."

"Don't ramble Merlin, be quiet, hang on."

Arthur paused, lifting his head. Merlin watched as the trailing ends of Arthur's hair blew off his forehead and the cold air drifted around them. Arthur's eyes turned to look at the small gap in the rocks. The lower part of the structure was made up of random sized rocks, which indicated to him that it had been a rock fall. The ceiling above looked rough, jagged edges cutting downwards, but beyond that it looked to angle upwards into a small cavity.

"Fresh air, this way, Merlin, don't dawdle!"

Arthur pushed him against the rock and then hefted Merlin upwards pushing him into the small gap. Merlin would have hesitated but Arthur didn't give him much of a chance. He hoisted Merlin into the space, shoving him roughly, almost lifting his backside into the air as he pushed. Then Arthur followed along, close behind continually pushing Merlin on as they crawled on their hands and knees down the tunnel. As he saw the drop Merlin slammed the brakes on.

"Arthur!"

"What?" Arthur snapped, ceasing to push much to Merlin's relief, and flattening Merlin to the floor he crawled over him to look down. Arthur assessed it, and Merlin winced as the hilt of the sword jabbed into his back.

"It's the lake, we can drop down into that and swim clear of the castle, there is a sheltered cove just on the far side, we can hide in there. We don't know how many men Draman has." Arthur paused as his voice went hoarse and he coughed to clear it, spitting onto the rocks. Merlin grimaced until he saw the faint trace of blood in the spittle. He inclined over to look at it but his vision was obscured as Arthur manoeuvred himself around to slide his feet down onto the lower ledge. His hand gripped the scruff on Merlin's neck and he tugged Merlin down. Merlin scrabbled against the rocks, sliding over them and wincing as the rough edges scraped on his skin and through his thin clothes.

"You can't be serious."

"It's not that much of a drop. Turn in the air and dive down as you reach the surface."

"What?"

"And don't yelp on the way…." Arthur shoved, causing Merlin to yelp. Arthur took a deep breath before jumping. "Down!" he added as he went off the edge, following in Merlin's wake.

Arthur felt the rush of cold air around him, shocking him and causing him to choke as the air shot into his lungs, and swirled around him. Panic rippled over him for just a moment, then he stilled his struggles and looked down to see the surface of the lake rushing to meet him, or rather he was rushing to meet it. As he turned in the air he caught sight of a splash to his right, and he put his arms forward to dive into the water.

He braced himself but nothing prepared him for the shock of cold water rushing over him. It froze his muscles, for a moment he could do nothing but lay in the water, it clamped around his tired body, and every movement seemed like an effort. His stomach clenched and he desperately had to hold onto the air he had drawn into his lungs. Arthur stayed as calm as he could, letting a little of the pressure out, bubbles of air drifting from his mouth as he rose to the surface. As he broke the surface of the water he exhaled, his throat tensing at the rush of release, so in the end he had to cough and splutter, flailing in the water to stay afloat.

Arthur forced himself to stay still and looked around. Although he had to be careful not to move his limbs he couldn't afford the tension within them. That would make it harder for him to stay afloat, and he needed to do that with minimal effort.

"Merlin?"

He looked from one side to the other and then took a deep breath before diving down into the water. His eyes had trouble seeing through the murky waters of the lake, but he had to find Merlin. As he broke up through the surface to take another breath he saw him, a distance away, flailing in the water.

"Merlin, just relax and float!" Arthur snapped as he started to paddle over. Merlin obliged, but naturally decided to do so face down. Arthur felt torn between anger and panic as he reached him and turned him over. Merlin looked blue with cold and didn't react as Arthur slapped him. Looking around he looped an arm around Merlin and used his other hand to start to paddle towards the bank.

It was not that far away, but to Arthur it seemed like miles as he struggled along. Every time he took a breath his throat burned, as if he was breathing fire and not air, and Merlin's weight dragged him back, making him feel so exhausted as he hauled them both along.

"You'd better not be dying on me Merlin," Arthur spluttered under his breath, coughing again, the words losing coherence as they grated on his throat. He sank down in the water, ripples splashing onto his face and rushing into his mouth. He spat it out and forced himself to keep going. He supposed he had to be slightly thankful that Draman had dragged him out of his armour and mail shirt before starting the torture.

A particularly brutal ripple slapped against them and Arthur sank below the surface. He froze for a moment but then his feet connected with solid rock. Surging forward Arthur pulled himself back upwards, his feet slipping on the smooth rocks but he propelled himself into the shallows, staggering up the bank and dropping to his knees. Merlin flopped onto the bank next to him, his skin pale and body unmoving.

"Don't you dare!" Arthur warned him coughing again. His limbs felt like lead as he pushed Merlin over onto his front and Arthur pressed down on his back. A gush of water flowed from Merlin's mouth and Arthur pushed again, causing a smaller wash but then it also made Merlin jerk underneath him and he coughed bringing up more liquid but ejecting it of his own accord. Merlin moaned as he coughed.

"Ow! That hurts!"

Arthur smacked him on the back again for good measure, and Merlin gave another cough that sounded like an insult. It made Arthur give a brief smile, if Merlin could insult then he was more or less fine. Arthur put his hands under Merlin's armpits and hoisted him upright.

"Come on, we need to get out of sight, and get some wood for a fire before we freeze to death."

Again Arthur forced himself to propel Merlin along, as Merlin's limbs seemed slightly unwilling to cooperate. Arthur slipped on the wet rocks, crashing onto one knee. Merlin stopped walking, staying upright but wobbling as he turned back to help Arthur up. Arthur waved him on, pushing himself up under his own steam, and they slipped and slithered across the rocks as fast as their exhausted limbs could carry them. They ducked into a small crevice in the rocks and paused. Merlin slumped against the wall, and felt Arthur's shoulder bump against his as he did the same. Then Arthur shuffled sideways and peered out, looking up at the castle above them. There looked to be no movement whatsoever.

"With any luck," Arthur started and then had to stop as he suffered a fit of coughing. Arthur carried on heaving for a few minutes and then carefully got himself under control. "With any luck they may still be oblivious to the fact that we have gone."

"They could have been the only people in there," Merlin added.

"Maybe. Come on Merlin, we need to get a fire started and warm up."

Arthur harried Merlin further into the cove and into a small sheltered ravine. Thankfully, and oddly, there were trees growing from crevices in the rocks, one of the trees sprouting with life from one branch, the other barren and dead. Arthur slashed the dead section down with his sword, swinging haphazardly as his body refused to function. Breaking the branches at least kept them moving and they built the fire, surrounding it with stones. Arthur began rubbing two of the sticks together.

"This might take a while."

"Arthur."

He looked up and slowly leant back. Merlin felt his power rush and the branches burst into flames. They surged upwards, making the small little cave glow with light, the bright flickering gave an added feeling of warmth as they huddled together.

For a long while they were silent, too exhausted to do anything but sit there, stunned and damaged. Eventually Merlin raised his head high enough to face the issue, although he didn't turn his head in Arthur's direction.

"Arthur?"

"I know, Merlin. Do you really think that I don't know?"


End file.
